Game systems such as those in which a user operates a virtual character in a virtual environment have become increasingly popular among children and adult users. Various such game systems exist which may be implemented by a data processing system such as a game console, a handheld game device, a desktop computer, a portable computer, a tablet computer or mobile phone. It is generally desirable to make such systems increasingly interesting, entertaining and/or educational.
Several attempts have been made to control virtual game play by means of physical toys. For example, UK patent application GB 2365796 discloses a game system which comprises a toy which stores toy information, a reader for detecting the toy information by a contact-less data transmission system, and a game device. The game device executes a game in which a character representing the toy appears in accordance to the toy information detected by the reader.
In many game systems, a variety of virtual objects may become available to the player during game play, e.g. when virtual objects evolve to more advanced objects, when a player obtains virtual equipment, etc. Hence, during virtual game play, it is desirable to be able to represent different virtual objects by corresponding physical objects. It would thus be desirable to provide the user with a flexible mechanism that allows the user to obtain physical objects that resemble selected ones of a large number of different virtual objects.